British India headline Red Bull Bedroom Jam this Saturday

Alice Springs has never really been known as a hotbed of music, but this weekend sees one of Australia's finest young bands head to town. In the midst of an Australian tour, British India have announced an exclusive date there this Saturday in order to headline Red Bull Bedroom Jam’s first round finale event – The Backyard Jam.

Red Bull Bedroom Jam is on a mission to discover the crème de la crème of teenage talent rehearsing in bedrooms across the nation. It is an online music competition that is searching – via webcam – for two Aussie bands aged 14-19 to give them the chance to record in either the US or UK, before playing on the biggest stages of their lives. This weekend's climatic Backyard Jam final will see four finalists say toodle-pip to the confinements of their poster-clad walls and get the opportunity to rock a live gig alongside British India. One band will then walk away with a mind-blowing music prize; a trip to London to record in Red Bull’s studios and a spot on the line up at the UK’s gnarliest rock festival, Download.

The four finalists have already topped the custom made online Buzz Chart and subsequently strummed their way through a live webcast performance. Now, acoustic singer/songwriter Scott Boyd, garage band Jagged Lies, four-piece rockers Welcome Wednesday, all from Melbourne, and ear-bleeding electro-thrash metal group The Sky’s The Limit from Alice Springs will all battle it out for the fantastic prize at the Backyard Jam event.

The good news for your band (assuming you are in Australia and fit the age-requirements) is that there is still time to be part of Red Bull Bedroom Jam. The second round of the competition that will send one band to LA this September is now live. All you need to do is upload a video of an original track to www.redbullbedroomjam.com.au and spread the word to encourage your friends and fans to hop online and generate some noise. The first webcast winner of the next phase will be announced on 2nd June. Get writing, get practicing and get uploading.

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British India's other tour dates can be found at their website.

Cloud Control ready to rock the Jagermeister Independent Music Awards

Tomorrow brings with it the fifth Jagermeister Independent Music Awards. At the ceremony to be held at The Forum in Melbourne, all eyes are sure to be on Cloud Control, who have scooped an impressive three nominations (Best Independent Artist, Breakthrough Independent Artist and Best Independent Album).

As well as hoping to pick up an award or three, Cloud Control will also be performing live at the event, as will British India, Sally Seltman, M-Phazes and The Amity Affliction.

Presented by the Australian Independent Record Label Association (AIR), the awards are about recognising something unique and acknowledging the universal truth that artistic accomplishment does not have to go hand-in-hand with commercial success. As we all know, to find truly interesting and groundbreakingly creative, you need to tune your radio to something other than the top 40.

There are still a handful of tickets available for tomorrow night's shindig, priced at a bargain $29 + booking fee. Be sure to grab one now. You can do so through Ticketmaster.

Jagermeister Independent Music Awards nominations announced

Nominations for the fifth annual Jagermeister Independent Music Awards - which used to be known as the Jagermeister AIR Awards - were officially announced this week, and they include a stellar array of the Australia's brightest emerging talent.

Leading the pack with three Nominations each are Sia, Dan Sultan and Cloud Control. Also receiving a nomination for the coveted Best Independent Album is the late Australian music legend Rowland S Howard.

Little Red, British India and Eddie Current Suppression Ring also received nominations and, having been championed by BobbySix.com from the word go, Bridezilla (pictured above) and The Temper Trap are up for awards too.